Ice-creeper.



No'. 761,915. PATBNTED JUNE 7,1904.

C. H. ROOPEN. ICB CREEPBR.

APPLICATION FILEDYJUNE 5, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

Patented June 7, 1904.A

UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES H. ROOPEN, OF WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

ICE-CREEPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 761,915, dated June 7, 1904.

Application led June 5, 1903. Serial No. 160,210. (No model.)

To r/l/Z 707mm/ it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. RoorEN, a subject of the Sultan of Turkey, and a resident of Waltham, inthe county of Middlesex and State of lvlassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ice-Creepers, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the acJ companying drawings, forming a part of this speciiication, in explaining its nature. Y

My invention relates to an improvement in ice-Creepers. f

It consists in a creeper especially designed to be attached to the shank between the heel and sole of the shoe.

The creeper comprises, mainly, two opposing clamp and spur bearing members made of metal and of so simplea lformation that they can even be cast, as is the best way of making them, which of course is of economic advantage. The special structure of these members-the way in which they are combined and made adjustable whereby the Aclamping portions thereof may be made to engage with the edges of the shank of any size shoe, together with the means for Vobtaining such adjustment of the members and for holding them at any point of adjusted position-are all fea-l tures within the purpose of my invention and which can best be seen and understood by reference to the drawings forming a part. of this specification, wherein-- Figure l shows a plan of my improved icecreeper applied to the shank of the shoe. Fig. 2 shows a longitudinal vertical section thereof.

Referring to the drawings, A and A' represent, respectively, the two opposing clamp and spur bearing members, which combined form the -main structure of the ice-Creeper. They are made, preferably, vof cast metal. When combined, the members are comprised of the respective plate-sections au', overlapping one another on the inner side ofthe shank of the shoe and made slightly curved in order to conform thereto, the opposing clamps a2 a2 made to engage with the respective sides of the shoe-shank and the spursv d3 a4, respectively, and it is especially to be noted that the spur a3 of the member A is made slightly longer than the spur a4 of the member A', be-

-plate-section a', laps on the outside, wherefore the spur a3, secured to the inside member, -is lengthened to accord in relative length with the spur (0*, secured to the member on lthe outside and so that both spurs may have an equality of bearing.

The oppos-ing members A A' are connected or joined together in a manner which permits of their overlapping plate-sections a a' sliding by `one another, wherefore the members can be laterally adjusted and their opposing clamps made to engage with the edges of the shank of any size shoe. The members are so combined by the lugs a, formed upon the sides at the inner end of the plate-section a, clasped around the edges of the plate-section a'. Such retention is supplemented by turning over the edges of the plate a about the edges of the plate a' is adapted to slide. The members are kept from being entirely drawn apart by means of a lug a", formed upon the inner end of the plate-section a of the member A', extending up into a longitudinal slot a', formed in the plate-section a of the member A, and which lug is adapted to run along the way of said slot as the' members are drawn apart and to define their extent of movement by drawing a', so forming a kind of way in which the plate against the edge as, forming the end of said slot. The members areadjusted and held adjusted at any point within the limit of their adjustment, whereby their clamping portions may be drawn and held tightly clasped against the side edges of the shoe-shank by means of the thumb or adjusting screw B. This screw is shown extended through a hole a, formed in the spur a3 of the member A and fastening into a threaded hole a1,- formed in the inner end of the plate-section a of the member A',

the said plate-section beingformed with a suf-v ficiency of metal stock upon its under side to make such threaded connection. It is obvious that as this screw is turned in one direction or the other the members are either adjusted together and held or maintained at the point' to which they are adjusted or the release of the drawing'tension ofthe screw permits of TOO the members being forced farther apart. Besides the practical utility of this means of obtaining and maintaining the adjustment of the members the accessibility of the thumb-screw is to be noted in the fact that its head comes at the end of the Creeper, where it can be conveniently reached to be manipulated.

The advantages of my invention arise from its extreme simplicity, from the ease with which the parts are put into operative combination` from the effective method of obtain ing the adjustment and retention of its members, from the eiiicieney of their operation, and perhaps more essentially from the simple and relatively cheap way in which a very useful article can be manufactured.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 4 l. In an ice-Creeper, the combination with opposing spur and clamp bearing members, a portion of which members lap by oneanother, of a screw passing' through the spur of one of said members and fastening into the end portion of the other member whereby the adjustment of the respective members is obtained.

2. In an ice-Creeper, the combination of two clamp and spur bearing members A and A',

provided with plate-sections overlapping one above the other between the spurs carried by said members, means for holding said members in sliding engagement with one another, and adjusting means carried by one of said members extending through the spur thereof and fastening into the end of the other member, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In an ice-Creeper, the combination of two clamp and spur bearing` members A and A, provided with plate-sections af, nf, overlapping one above the other between the spurs carried by said members, means for engaging` said plate-sections to slide by one another` a lug carried by the end of one plate-section and adapted to extend into a longitudinal slot formed in the other, and a screw B extending through the spur of the member A and fastening with threaded connection into the end of the underlaliping plate-section of the member A, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

CHARLES H. ROOlllN.

In presence of*- J. M. DoLAN, SAUL SIrrnRs'rEIN. 

